Arizona Prisons
KJZZ listener Chandler McElroy used the Q&AZ portal to ask about the latest developments in Arizona’s prison health care class action lawsuit.
Jul. 20, 2020
Arizona Department of Corrections Director David Shinn has drastically altered the department media policy regarding staff and inmate communication with the press.
Jul. 16, 2020
The Arizona Department of Corrections is suspending all legal and nonlegal visits in Arizona state prison complexes through Aug. 13 to help slow the spread of COVID-19 among inmates and prison staff.
Jul. 14, 2020
Despite a conviction for second-degree murder, the family of Ramon Stewart says he’s not a threat to society, and a debilitating form of MS and conditions in the prisons are threatening his life.
Jul. 14, 2020
Forty-five youths have tested positive for COVID-19 over the past several months at the Adobe Mountain School in Phoenix, Arizona’s juvenile detention center. Kate Howard, government and public affairs administrator for the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections, confirmed the infections to KJZZ on Monday.
Jul. 13, 2020
The Arizona Department of Corrections is requiring all staff members to wear masks to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the prisons. However, the department is not making masks available to all inmates.
→ More Arizona Prison Health Care News
→ More Arizona Prison Health Care News
Jun. 18, 2020
A group of incarcerated people have filed a complaint in federal court alleging their confinement in private, for-profit prisons is unconstitutional. Attorneys argue that Arizona has delegated its “sovereign power of incarceration” to prison corporations that in turn treat prisoners as “economic assets.”
Jun. 15, 2020
According to a data analysis conducted by KJZZ, the Arizona Department of Corrections is experiencing a yearslong surge in incidents of self-harm among inmates. In the past five years, total annual incidents of self-harm in Arizona state prisons have increased more than 360%.
→ Arizona Prison Health Care
→ Arizona Prison Health Care
Jun. 15, 2020
The Arizona Department of Corrections says it will increase testing of its staff in an attempt to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in state prisons.
Jun. 12, 2020
The Arizona Department of Corrections is extending the suspension of visitations at state prisons as the number of COVID-19 positive cases among inmates and staff continues to rise.
Jun. 10, 2020
Representatives of Pima County are urging public health officials and the Arizona Department of Corrections to reduce prison populations in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Community leaders made a call to action Wednesday after several requests sent to the DOC and the Governor’s Office were ignored.
May. 27, 2020
Following a recent outbreak at the state prison in Yuma, the Arizona Department of Corrections will test more than 900 correctional officers for COVID-19. The pending tests represent the largest commitment the department has made to screening for the disease since the beginning of the pandemic.
May. 21, 2020
COVID-19 is spreading in Arizona prisons. As of May 18, more than 170 inmates have tested positive and six have died. Sixty-four correctional officers have tested positive. Last week, KJZZ discovered that food workers contracted by the state have tested positive as well.
May. 18, 2020
Trinity Services Group, a company that provides food services for jails and prisons in all 50 states, says four of its employees in Arizona and 20 employees nationwide have tested positive for COVID-19.
May. 13, 2020
At a press conference Tuesday, Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ announced the state would increase the testing of correctional officers and inmates for COVID-19.
May. 12, 2020
Most K-12 schools, colleges and universities in Arizona have gone digital in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in prisons across the state, students are still being forced to go to class in-person every day. A Q&AZ listener asked why hasn't the prison education system gone to correspondence work.
May. 12, 2020
A group of federal pretrial inmates housed at a CoreCivic facility in Florence is suing the warden and several other government officials over alleged unconstitutional conditions at the private prison.
May. 8, 2020
An employee at the Adobe Mountain School, Arizona’s secure juvenile detention facility, has tested positive for COVID-19. Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections spokesperson Kate Howard said individuals who were in close contact with the positive case were tested.
May. 6, 2020
Attorneys representing inmates in a class-action lawsuit about prison health care in Arizona are asking a federal judge to fine the state $400,000 for its continued failure to meet agreed-upon health care benchmarks.
May. 6, 2020
On May 5, The Show heard from Caroline Isaacs, the Arizona director of the American Friends Service Committee, who called the county attorney's op-ed criticizing groups advocating for the release of inmates during the coronavirus pandemic "tone deaf."
May. 5, 2020
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